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Sources and References

The Jigsaw of Finhaven: Pieces of a Lost History

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The discoveries made during the restoration raised questions none of us expected to ask. What began as a straightforward attempt to understand who built the house, when, and why soon turned into something far more intriguing. Finding verditer paint and rag-paper wallpaper — materials far beyond anything a vernacular farmhouse would ever have used — hinted at a level of wealth and intention that didn’t match the accepted story of the House of Finhaven.

To make sense of these clues, we had to go back into the records: wills, charters, court papers, maps, and early printed accounts. Very quickly, it became clear that the research was a jigsaw of many pieces — but without the box lid to show what the finished picture was meant to be.

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The turning point was the discovery of SP 35/6/47 at The National Archives. These sixty-six documents provided the missing "box lid." They revealed that the man who chose these high-status materials was the same man who had fought a quiet, tactical war of resistance from within these very walls. James signed his name with a "y" — Carnegy — the traditional Scots spelling, and his signature appears on the petitions that eventually cleared his name.

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Together, these materials and documents have reshaped our understanding of the house. They reveal a man of the Scottish Enlightenment who used the "Whig" architecture of his home to survive a rebellion, and whose legacy of principle is still visible in the stone and the light of the house today.

Primary Sources

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National Records of Scotland

  • GD6/1406 – Contract of Marriage between James Carnegie of Phinhaven and Margaret Bennet, daughter of the deceased Sir William Bennet of Grubbet. 29 January–24 March 1711.

  • CC3/3/9 – Wills and Testaments, Brechin Commissary Court. 13 October 1714. Images 106–108.

  • Index to Retours – Entry for James Carnegie of Finhaven, served heir‑male and of provision general to his father, 18 September 1765.

  • Crown Charter – Charter of the barony of Finhaven, 24 February 1766 (Reg. Mag. Sig. Lib. lxxxiv. No. 121).

  • Angus OS Name Books, 1857–1861, Ordnance Survey, Volume 75, Parish of Oathlaw, p. 24. Scotland’s People Reference OS1/2/66/24.

 

National Archives Kew

  • James Carnegy d1765 [Carnegie], laird of Finhaven [Phinhaven] SP 35/6/47

    • Petition Trial at Carlisle 1716 Petition to the King

      • The Petition of James Carnegie: A detailed narrative of his 40-mile ride to Aberdeen to surrender to the Duke of Argyll.

      • The "Coercion" Letter: A notarised original from Patrick Lyon (24 Oct 1715) containing the direct threat to "burn Carnegy's house and estate" if he did not join the rebels.

      • Household Depositions: Sworn affidavits from Andrew Ferrier (valet) and Margaret Fenton (servant) detailing the tactical use of the House’s  "gardens" and "back windows" and hidden parts (inner courtyard) to evade recruiters.

      • The Parish Support: A formal declaration from the Presbytery of Brechin and a character reference from Rev. John Anderson (Minister of Oathlaw), confirming Carnegie's active role in establishing Presbyterian governance and expelling a trespassing Episcopalian Minister from Oathlaw Kirk in 1710.

      • The Neighbour’s Witness: Affidavit of William Baillie (Miller at the Mill of Finhaven), confirming the "Cole to the Gate" (raising his house, garden and estate) to arson threats and Carnegie’s intention to "slip" away from the rebels at the first opportunity.

  • James Carnegy.  The Pejorative Court of Canterbury. â€‹â€‹

    • Reference: PROB 11/1046/275 Description: Will of James Carnegy of Phinheven Date:27 October 1778

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Probate (Scotland) 

  • 1714 Carnegie, Charles d 1711 Whitewalls Tannadice  (Wills and testaments Reference CC3/3/9, Brechin Commissary Court) Image 106 Last image 108 (eldest son of Sir James Carnegie d 1707. Brother of James Carnegie d 1765. 

  • 1778 Carnegy, James  d 1777 (Wills and testaments Reference CC8/8/124, Edinburgh Commissary Court) Image 787 Last image (son of James Carnegie d1765.

 

Probate (England) 

  • Will of James Carnegy of Finhaven, d 1765 Esquire. Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/1046/275. Proved 24 February 1779.

 

Court of Session

  • James Carnegie v Charles Carnegie (1705). Scottish Court of Session.

  • Petition of James Carnegy, laird of Finhaven. The National Archives (UK).

 

Contemporary Printed Sources

  • Carnegie, James. The Trial of James Carnegie of Finhaven, before the Court of Justiciary, at Edinburgh, in the year 1728, indicted for the murder of the Earl of Strathmore. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: G. Hamilton and J. Balfour, 1762. (Digitised by the Internet Archive.)

 

Historic Environment Scotland

  • Milton of Finavon House (Listed Building LB17725).

  • Finavon Castle Tower (Scheduled Monument SM2464).

 

Ordnance Survey & Historic Maps

  • Forfarshire Sheet XXXIII.8. 25‑inch Ordnance Survey map, 1865. National Library of Scotland.

 

Secondary Sources

Peerage & Genealogical Works

  • Sir James Balfour Paul (ed.). The Scots Peerage, Vol. VI. Edinburgh, 1909, pp. 497–498.

  • Fraser, William. History of the Carnegies, Earls of Southesk, and of Their Kindred. Edinburgh: 1867.
    (See Vol. II, p. 567 for the Finhaven succession summary.)

  • Stirnet Genealogy:

    • Carnegie03 – Carnegies of Finavon.

    • Naesmyth1 – Naesmyths of Posso.

 

Local & Regional Histories

  • Jervise, Andrew. The Land of the Lindsays in Angus and Mearns. Edinburgh: Sutherland & Knox, 1853.

  • Jervise (1853), p. 164 (collapse of Finavon Castle).

 

Historical Commentary

  • Domestic Annals of Scotland, Reign of George II: 1727–1748, Part A.

  • Thornton Hall, F.S.A. Love Romances of the Aristocracy.

  • A Letter from a Gentleman in Forfar, to his Friend at Edinburgh, 16 May 1728 (archived 2007).

 

Digital Sources

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  • Milton of Finavon House, Canmore: National Record of the Historic Environment.

  • Marlefield House. Stravaiging around Scotland.

  • Arniston House: History. Arniston House.

  • James Carnegie v Charles Carnegie, Scottish Court of Session judgment. Casemine.

  • National Records of Scotland Online Catalogue.

  • ScotlandsPeople (wills, testaments, sasines).

  • British History Online.

 

Architectural & Contextual Sources

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  • OS Name Books (19th century) – Milton recorded as a “fine farm house and offices” belonging to James Carnegie Gardyne, Esq.

  • Architectural parallels and context drawn from:

    • McKean, Charles. The Scottish Chateau.

    • Gifford, John. Buildings of Scotland: Angus and Dundee.

    • Colvin, Howard. A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600–1840.

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Notes on Research

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  • The refurbishment of Milton of Finavon (2022–2026) produced new primary architectural data, including measured room proportions and construction details.

  • These measurements revealed a consistent early‑Georgian proportional system not previously recognised.

  • The discovery was prompted by routine flooring measurements and later confirmed during research into historically appropriate exterior colours, where the phrase “Palladian façade” first arose.

  • This reference list supports the reinterpretation of Miltonof FInavon as a modest but culturally significant early‑Georgian house shaped by the Bennet–Carnegie marriage.

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